


A Great Place for a Picnic, Huh?

by hyperInactive



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: I just had this thought and i needed to write it, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, The Family Meets The Boyfriend, The Hargreeves are Good Siblings, anyway enjoy and appreciate my 30 year old mess of a son, he deserves the world, just a thought about a place i thought klaus would visit when everything was over, or at least better, the commission can kiss my ass i Hate em, theyre Trying, ugh i love him hes a disaster and i love him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-06-26 12:03:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19767829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyperInactive/pseuds/hyperInactive
Summary: The Apocalypse had been averted.  It was a close one, but the Hargreeve family now had the time to rebuild, and figure out how to be good to each other without the shadow of Reginald hanging over their heads.  Most of them had figured out how to open up a bit more, and were making amends with each other in the hopes of a future where they were closer as a family.But Klaus...he kept disappearing.  Vanishing for a day, going who knows where.  The rest of them were growing a bit annoyed.“If you really want to know that badly, just follow him,” Five suggested one day, nonchalantly.Bad idea?  Yes.  But this family wasn't known for their proper usage of brain cells.





	A Great Place for a Picnic, Huh?

**Author's Note:**

> My first and maybe only UA fic? i hope you all like it i love klaus with my whole heart and soul he deserves so much. This takes place in some timeline where they saved the world but didnt need to go back in time idk man. Its my city now.
> 
> Not gonna tell you where he's going, but its a place that i think he'd like to visit. Despite all the ghosts.

The Apocalypse had been averted. The Hargreeve siblings were all alive, and they were slowly working to rebuild themselves as a family. One without the shadow of their father hanging over the household. It was working...for the most part. With the support of her siblings, Allison reached out multiple times to get visitation with Claire, eventually reaching a strenuous compromise with Patrick. Vanya was slowly learning to harness her power using her music, and controlling and understanding her emotions without the use of the suppressants she had taken for years. Luther had finally admitted that their childhood was messed up, and was making a concerted effort to make things up to Vanya and the rest of his siblings. He and Diego had even managed to have a few civil conversations. Diego was still grieving for Eudora, but he wasn’t alone, and so he didn’t feel quite as broken.

However...Klaus was still keeping his distance. They all knew he was still sober, and they all realized how important that was to him, but he still stayed in his room more than the rest. He took more baths than he used to, which was already a lot, and there were days that they couldn’t find him at all. They had designated every Saturday as their unofficial family day, to try and seem more normal, and yet he always vanished. He would be nowhere in the house, and they wouldn’t see him until very late that night, or the following day. It was getting kind of tiring. 

“Where the hell does he go every weekend?” Diego asked, lying back on the couch as he tossed his knives in the air. It was Friday, and they were preparing for another family day sans Klaus. Luther glanced around.

“Are we sure he’s-”

“-Yes, he’s sober, we’re sure,” Allison cut him off. “Wherever he’s going, it’s not to get high.”

“It’s not really that big of a deal,” Five commented from his chair, not looking up from his project. After the Apocalypse-that-wasn’t, the siblings had agreed that their older-but-younger brother needed a better outlet for his energy than being an assassin, and a creative outlet to get his mind off of what he had been through. So Five took up knitting. He had refused, at first, but they all insisted he try it, and Allison was a good teacher. Klaus even helped, on the Sundays that he was home, saying that he had needed  _ something  _ to get him through the boring rehabs he had been in. He was quite good, and soon Five admitted that he liked the repetitive motion of the craft. Currently, he was making a new scarf for Vanya, saying that he preferred to make things for his siblings since he would never wear them anyway. 

“It is a big deal, because he’s not even telling us anything,” Allison said. “He’s been acting strange.”

“If you really want to know that badly, just follow him,” Five suggested nonchalantly. Silence settled in the room as the other four looked at each other. 

“This feels like a bad idea,” Vanya said hesitantly. “He obviously doesn’t want us to know.”

“Or maybe he just doesn’t know how to bring it up?” Allison replied. 

“It’s gotta be something serious if he’s not whining about having to go somewhere every week ” Diego added. 

“Surely if it’s something bad, he won’t mind us trying to help, right?” Allison asked, seeming unsure but determined. 

“That’s what we do now. We’re a family, we help each other,” Luther said. 

“So we’re really going to spy on Klaus?” Vanya raised her eyebrows before sighing. “If you guys get caught, I’m getting Five to jump me away before he has Ben kick your asses.”

“When did I say I was coming?” Five finally looked up, a quick glance with a questioning gaze. Vanya rolled her eyes. 

“You didn’t,” she said. “I did. If we’re doing this, then we’re  _ all _ doing this.”

Five sighed, shaking his head, but didn’t argue. They had all learned that without the pills suppressing her emotions, Vanya was a force to be reckoned with even when you weren’t talking about her powers. Everyone was silent after that. At least, until Diego groaned and got off the couch. 

“Well, if we’re actually doing this then we probably aren’t sleeping tonight. We know he leaves before even Luther wakes up. So, I’m takin’ a nap.” Then he left without another word, the creaking of the stairs accompanying his exit. The other’s watched him go with a sigh, before Allison pursed her lips.

“You know, he does have a point. We should rest today so we don’t oversleep,” She said, standing too. Vanya leaned back onto the couch cushion.

“No argument here, I’m still exhausted from the training earlier,” she mumbled, her eyes falling shut. Five didn’t move from his chair, but Luther joined Allison as they went to their bedrooms. 

With four asleep and one not caring, no one noticed as Klaus snuck into the kitchen later that night and stopped next to their mom with his hands in his pockets and a small, sheepish smile. Grace smiled back at him and reached under the counter, grabbing a picnic basket that she had made earlier at his request. 

“I made roast beef sandwiches this time, is that alright?” She asked softly, and Klaus nodded.

“Yeah, it’s perfect. Thanks, mom.” His voice was quiet too, but not because he was trying to keep his voice down. He was watching the basket with a mixture of love and sadness, the same emotions clashing in his voice. Grace placed the handles of the basket in his hands and placed her own hand on his cheek. 

“It’s my pleasure, Klaus,” she insisted with a sweet smile. “Give my regards, will you dear?”

“Of course. I’ll see you on Sunday,” Klaus responded, and as Grace removed her hand from his cheek, he leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. He knew he had never been as close to their mom as Diego was, but that didn’t mean he didn’t love her. She had always come running after his nightmares, carding her fingers through his hair until the shaking stopped. She was the only actual parent in the household, which really said something about Old Reggie if a robot had him beat. But Grace...despite being quite literally unable to stop their father from doing the shitty things he did, she still did all she could to make the siblings feel loved by someone. Klaus always appreciated that, even in the years after he left the Academy and was living off the streets. 

The moon rose higher in the sky, and seven out of nine inhabitants of the house were asleep. Grace had plugged herself in, Five hadn’t bothered to find his bed and was passed out on the loveseat, and even Pogo had gone to his own quarters. But Klaus was out in the garden, which had just recently begun to turn green by Grace’s careful nurturing, lying on his back with Ben and staring at the stars like he did every Friday night. He couldn’t sleep, or else he wouldn’t leave the house early enough. So he watched the stars until it was time for him to go.

A few hours later, only two members of the household remained asleep. And five figures watched as Klaus slipped out of the mansion as the sun was just barely peeking over the horizon, climbing onto the bus holding a basket in his hands. He was wearing a shirt that every one of his siblings knew he liked to save for nice occasions. 

“Come on,” Allison said, leading the others. “I’ll drive.”

“I can-”

“-Absolutely not, Five,” Luther interrupted. “We aren’t getting arrested because it looks like we let a kid drive us across state lines.”

“Oh please, everyone knows us now, we saved the world.” Five rolled his eyes. 

“And guess what we all decided was too complicated to explain to the whole world? Your situation. Now act thirteen and get in the back,” Allison said while crossing her arms and staring pointedly at Five. 

Five scowled, but relented. It was a tough fit to get everyone into Allison’s car, but soon they were on their way.

As the sun inched its way onto the sky, the siblings set out, following behind the bus that held their distant brother. They didn’t know where they were going, except that the bus destination was a transfer station to get on other buses. Wherever Klaus was going, it wasn’t in the state. But they kept going, watching as Klaus walked carefully between the buses until he found the one he was looking for and climbed aboard. The sun was out now, but it was still early morning. Five was scowling out the back window, and he had been in the same position since Allison refused to stop and get coffee. She knew she was right to do so, if they stopped they would lose the bus, but that didn’t mean that Five wasn’t getting on her nerves. 

They would be lucky if all of them survived this trip, thanks to Five and thanks to Luther taking up half the car. Diego and Luther might have been getting along a little better, but this was pushing it. Maybe they should have just let Klaus be.

“No, we’ve come this far,” Five grumbled from the backseat as Allison voiced that thought aloud. “Might as well keep going.”

“Even with no coffee?” Diego raised his eyebrows, not reacting when Five turning his withering gaze across the backseat towards him. 

“If I must.”

“And we call Klaus the drama queen.” Diego shook his head and reared his hand back as Five tried to reach over and snatch the knife out of his fingers. Vanya sighed and pushed Five back into his seat. Diego relaxed, and Allison was glad that they had made Five promise not to use his jumps while in the car. It was stressful enough just driving, Allison couldn’t deal with Five popping in and out at his whim.

It took only a few more hours for the bus to turn off into a parking garage, right as the sun was creeping steadily towards noon. Allison followed it, parking a level below where it went and stretching as the other four extracted themselves from the cramped car. It was a warm summer day, but not overly hot. The sun, shining through the pillars of the parking garage, was bright but not blinding. All in all a beautiful day. Wherever Klaus was going, it was a good day for it. 

“There he is,” Five said, pointing as Klaus followed some of the other bus passengers down the stairs of the garage. 

“Where even are we? I forgot to check my map,” Allison asked as they walked to the stairs. Diego pulled out his phone and checked, frowning slightly.

“Where is Klaus going in Washington D.C.?” He muttered, showing the others where they were right now. 

“We’ll find out soon, I guess,” Vanya added, starting to descend the steps with her hand tentatively on the rusted handrail. 

It didn’t take them long to find Klaus again once they reached the street level, as he was staring determinedly in the distance, the wicker basket held tightly in his right hand. He didn’t have a map out, knowing exactly where he was going as he wove through the crowds of people on the sidewalk, the rest of the family having to rush to keep up with his pace. Luther was getting some awed stares, and Allison was getting some excited pointing from pedestrians, but no one stopped them. They looked like they were on a mission, which they were. They just hoped no one pointed out their presence, otherwise, Klaus would know they were there. 

Klaus picked up the pace as a large stone wall came into view. Five frowned, but didn’t say anything as they crossed the street a few yards behind him. Klaus was hard to lose track of with his brightly colored clothes and the way he could attract attention anywhere he went. As he got closer and closer to this wall, he went up to a security guard and grinned. They couldn’t hear what he was saying, but the guard smiled at him and clapped a hand on his shoulder, nodding back towards the wall. All the other siblings shared a look. Klaus came here often enough to know the guards personally, and for them to know him. They stopped on the sidewalk, knowing that if they got much closer, he would see them. So they just watched. They watched as Klaus made his way up to the wall, his hand trailing the stone almost reverently as his eyes flicked between whatever was written on it. It was hard to tell for sure from their distance, but it looked like there was a wistful smile on his face. He was talking, and his eyes fluttered shut for a moment.

His hands flickered blue for only a second, but when they faded back to his skin his eyes opened and looked right next to him with an expression that none of the others had seen on him before. Klaus looked in love. Sure, he had looked at his siblings with affection, with soft smiles and supportive glances, but this was different. This was a look that Allison knew well, that Vanya longed for from someone, that Five had never known, that Diego had lost along with Eudora, that Luther didn’t quite understand. 

This was a wavering, soft, wistful,  _ true _ sort of love. The kind that burns below the skin for eternity, never quite leaving even if the object of the love is gone. The kind you can never forget, and the kind you dream of finding. 

Klaus smiled at thin air, before reaching down to the basket and extracting a blanket, spreading it on the ground and taking a cross-legged seat. The security guard looked back at him, but just gave him a nod and looked away. Other people passing by the wall frowned at Klaus, but none of them said anything about him taking up the space in front of that section of the wall. His family watched as he took food out of the basket and began to eat, laughing at something only he could hear, shaking his head with a grin on his face. 

“What is that?” Vanya breathed, afraid to break the silence that Klaus had settled among them. “The wall?”

Five crossed his arms.

“If my memory is correct, that’s the Vietnam War memorial. But what he is doing there, I don’t know,” He answered. Diego let out a breath. 

  
“Oh…” He whispered. “I know what he’s doing.”

“What?” Allison asked. Diego shook his head.

“I think we should just go. This is his thing, it should be private.”

Her eyebrows had just furrowed and her mouth opened to ask another question when they all saw Klaus tilt his head as if he was being told something confusing. Then he raised his eyes, and they landed right on the five of them. Hard to hide when they have Luther standing next to them. But Klaus didn’t seem mad. He gave them a quick, sad sort of grin and a wave. Then he looked exasperatedly at whoever he had been talking to, before sighing and resting his chin in his hand. They could all clearly see him say ‘really?’ before his lips pursed and he looked back up to wave the five of them towards him. Then he gave the air next to him another look, one that read ‘are you happy now?’ 

The five of them looked at each other before Five shrugged and began to walk up the path towards Klaus. With a sigh, the others followed. When they approached him, Allison immediately took a seat on the edge of the blanket. Klaus gave them a grin and another wave.

“Fancy seeing you guys here, huh?” He said, his voice clearly letting them know that he had realized they followed him. He still wasn’t mad, though. He seemed calmer than most days, lounging on the blanket under the sun, looking like he had no cares in the world. If it wasn’t for the small wrinkle of sadness by his eyes, he would look happier than they had ever seen him. Allison sighed.

“Sorry we followed you, Klaus,” She admitted, leaning forward a little as she rested her elbows onto her thighs. “We were just worried about why you kept disappearing.”

Klaus, for some reason, looked up at Diego. Diego shook his head.

“I didn’t know you were coming here, and I didn’t say anything,” He said. Klaus nodded and looked back over his shoulder at the wall. Now that they were closer, it was clear that the writing was thousands of names etched into the smooth stone. 

“Why  _ are  _ you here?” Luther asked, looking at the wall too. “I figure this place has a lot of ghosts, I thought you avoided places like that.”

Klaus tapped his fingers on the blanket in a pattern that felt...incomplete. Like a duet with only one part playing. 

“I do,” He replied softly. “But it’s different here.”

“How so?” Five cocked his head curiously. Klaus gave a laugh, more sad than happy and more bitter than amused. 

“Because these ghosts aren’t angry. Not most of them, anyway. Especially not the ones that know me. They’re sad, confused, lonely...but they aren’t the type to scream at me to help them.”

“Is that what ghosts normally do?” Vanya asked, and Klaus looked back at her with his eyebrows raised.

“Have I not mentioned that?”

“No, you haven’t,” Luther said. “Why not?”

“Because it doesn’t really matter? Nothing I can do about it anyway.” Klaus shrugged. “Well, besides breaking my sobriety streak, but that’s not gonna happen as long as he keeps sticking here.”

“...he?” Allison whispered, a bad feeling settling in her stomach. That smile flickered onto Klaus’s face again, and Diego watched his brother sadly.

“Dave,” Diego spoke, answering before Klaus could. Klaus looked up at Diego in surprise, but that soon settled into a grateful look and a nod. 

“Dave.”

“Is that why you couldn’t conjure him at the house?” Diego asked, ignoring the confused looks bring thrown his way. Klaus shrugged.

“I could conjure him for a few seconds at a time, but he can actually stick around for a few hours if I’m here.”

“Why? Who’s Dave?” Vanya asked. Klaus gave her a bittersweet smile, his gaze flicking between her and the air next to him. 

“Well…” He trailed off with an awkward chuckle. “It’s a bit of a long story. You don’t want to hear it, it’s not all that exciting.”

“Klaus…” Diego sighed. “I know I believed you about Dave, but I didn’t believe you about where you met him. Not fully, at least, and not until now. And...I’m sorry about that. You can talk to us about it, though, that’s why we’re here.”

“Literally,” Vanya added with a small grin. Klaus looked at the blanket, and at his hand resting atop the fabric. 

“I’ve only really talked to Ben about it,” He mumbled. “And that was because I owed it to him, leaving him alone while I was gone.”

“Where were you?” Five asked, staring at the wall. “Or is this about the time with the-”

“-briefcase, yeah,” Klaus finished. “You should be asking me  _ when  _ I was. And I think the answer is pretty obvious now.”

Horror began to fill the faces of Allison, Vanya, and Luther. Five looked at the wall thoughtfully, the furrowing of his brows the only indication that this revelation bothered him. Klaus jerked his head towards the wall. 

“Have a look,” He said, pointing. “They declared me MIA, and I don’t really care enough to explain the whole time travel thing.”

Everyone peered a little closer, and sure enough, there was a name that caught all of their attention.

_ Klaus Hargreeves _ . 

The name had a cross next to it. The name right next to Klaus’s was marked by a diamond, and had Allison holding back a gasp.

_ David Katz _ . 

“Klaus…” Vanya couldn’t find any words. 

“Dave says hi, by the way,” Klaus said, his eyes never leaving the space on the other side of the blanket. 

“Care to introduce us?” Allison asked with an understanding smile. Klaus looked around at the people wandering the area, then back to Allison.

“I think I can, if you guys make a barrier. Kinda awkward if anyone else sees, y’know?” 

“Wait, you can do that? Like, on purpose now?” Diego asked, and Klaus looked proud of himself.

“Ben and I have been practicing.” He nodded at a space off to the side, the opposite side as where he said Dave was sitting. “Kind of for this very occasion, actually, but also for him. For you guys.”

The five of them made a semicircle blocking the picnic blanket from the view of passersby, and Klaus looked apprehensive as he closed his eyes. He took a few deep breaths, and then his hands began to flicker with a blue light that pulsed around his fingers and flowed like water. 

And then they saw him. A smiling silhouette of a man sitting on the blanket, translucent blue and yet there was no mistaking the emotion on his face as he watched Klaus’s eyes flutter open and his mouth stretch into a grin. Klaus gave a disbelieving laugh, reaching out with shaking, glowing hands to grab at the man’s fingers until they intertwined with his own. The others were too caught up in staring at the ghost of Dave Katz to see the tears stinging Klaus’s eyes. But they saw as Klaus wiped them away. 

“I  _ did  _ it,” he whispered, smiling giddily at Dave. He looked up at his siblings surrounding him. “Well, here he is.”

As Dave looked up at all of them, they went around and introduced themselves. The kind smile on his face never wavered as he glanced at each of them in turn. After Luther introduced himself, Klaus turned back to Dave.

“Everyone, this is Dave,” he said, his voice suddenly swimming with affection. “The only man I’ve ever really loved.”

Dave ducked his head, laughing softly, and Klaus tore his eyes away from Dave to glare over his shoulder.

“Oh shut your piehole, Ben,” He hissed, sticking out his tongue as he failed to notice his family watching his and Dave’s intertwined hands. Klaus really was in love. And clearly, Dave loved him too. Allison couldn’t help the smile on her face, and even Five was having a hard time keeping his usual sullen expression. 

“It’s good to meet you, Dave,” Allison said kindly, smiling at her brother’s ghostly boyfriend, remarking silently how their lives just kept getting stranger. 

“Thanks for keeping Klaus safe in Vietnam,” Vanya added.

“We know how difficult that must have been,” Luther said with a small grin. 

“Well, thank you,” Dave said, speaking for the first time. “But it was all Klaus. He kept me sane on the front lines. Before he showed up...I wasn’t doing so hot.”

“I beg to differ,” Klaus countered, a shit-eating grin spreading across his face as Dave groaned and Five lightly smacked him upside the head. 

“Thanks for that, sunshine, but I’m being serious,” Dave said with a small smile. “You popped outta nowhere, and suddenly I had something to fight for. Something...something to die for.”

Klaus ducked his head, failing to hide the spike of pain that shot across his features. Dave squeezed his hands, the remnants of the bullet wound on his chest seeming to stand out even more. Vanya looked over and noticed that Five was staring straight ahead. He looked a little sick. She put her hand on his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” She asked softly. He jolted, looking up at her and frowning, before grabbing her hand and pulling her a little away from the circle. Not too far, as they still had to block Dave from any pedestrians, but enough that no one else would hear him whispering.

“You can’t tell Klaus,” Five insisted, his face more concerned than Vanya had seen it in a while. She furrowed her eyebrows.

“I...I won’t? Five, what’s going on?”

Five looked back over at where Dave was now sharing war stories of how he and Klaus got together, and he sighed.

“I know what happened to him.” His voice was as blunt as ever. “And if I tell Klaus, he’ll think it’s his fault.”

“Why?”

“The Commission,” Five grit his teeth as he forced the words out. “I’d bet money that they killed him.”

“Because of Klaus?” Vanya whispered nervously. Klaus was watching Dave like he was the universe, there was no way he would want to know this.

“There was no way he could have known, but yes. Because he went back in time, the Commission needed to make sure he would be back in this time period in time for the Apocalypse,” Five explained, his eyes warily on Klaus to make sure he didn’t notice the two talking. “So when he got attached to Dave...they must have realized that as long as Dave was alive, he wouldn’t want to come back.”

“So they killed him.” Vanya was horrified. Those people made Klaus watch the love of his life die? Just so he would be back for the end of the world? “Those  _ assholes _ .”

“They never did care about innocence.” Five’s voice was regretful as he thought back to the innocent lives he’s taken. How many Dave’s had he killed? How many people who were just trying to live and love in a time that fought against that?

“Hey Five, what’s got you brooding over there?” Klaus called, and Five cursed lightly under his breath.

“I was just trying to figure out why you could conjure him here but not back at the house,” He lied out of his ass, rejoining the semi-circle. “After all, his name might be on this wall but you have his tags.”

“I think it’s just easier for me to be here because of all the other ghosts that died with me,” Dave said. “They make this feel like a sort of...tether.”

“If you can use that old man nerd brain of yours to figure something out, though,” Klaus said with a shrug, “that’d be pretty cool.”

That was Klaus-speak for ‘if you do this I would die for you even more than normal’, and Five knew that the question would be enough motivation to have him look into it. If he could figure out a way to get Dave able to be in the mansion, maybe he’d feel better about the Commission’s involvement with his death. 

“I’m on it,” Five promised, nodding. 

“Dave, can you answer me something?” Allison suddenly asked with a mischievous smile. Dave grinned.

“I can try,” he answered. The others knew that was the wrong response to give when Allison was using that face. But they all wanted to see what happened.

“Are you telling me that my brother showed up in your tent in the middle of the night, wearing nothing but a bloody towel and clutching a suitcase...and you were instantly smitten?” She was like a shark smelling blood, and it was obvious that if Dave wasn’t dead, his face would be a tomato. Klaus grinned too, his eyes watching Dave intently.

“Um, I mean- uh-” He stammered, his hand leaving Klaus’s to rub the back of his neck.

“C’mon Davey, answer the lady,” Klaus sang, leaning onto his knees. 

“I- okay,  _ yes _ , I did, but in my defense, he is very pretty,” Dave held his hands up in surrender and Klaus leaned back, satisfied. 

“He’s a twig.” Diego grinned. “But if that’s your type, then sure.”

“Says the man wearing bondage gear 24/7,” Klaus shot back, causing Dave to start coughing as he tried to hold in laughter. The rest of them weren’t trying that hard, laughing loudly, and Diego flipped Klaus off. 

There was a comfortable silence for a moment, until Klaus glanced over his shoulder and sighed.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he said, talking to who the others assumed was Ben. Klaus turned back to face them. “I don’t think I can hold him like this much longer, I can already feel it.”

“Don't push yourself, sunshine, you’re still figuring this out,” Dave reached back out to grab Klaus’s hands. “I didn’t even expect to be able to meet your family yet, so if you have to rest, then do it.”

“This won’t be the last time we talk, Dave, if we have anything to say about it,” Allison assured him.

“Yeah, I mean, someone has to tell you all the embarrassing Klaus stories,” Diego added. “Which is basically every story about Klaus.”

“I look forward to that,” Dave said, giving everyone one last bright smile before he nodded at Klaus. Klaus gave a large, tired sigh and the glow around his hands vanished along with Dave. He slumped, his shoulders dropping as he let his head fall backward.

“ _ Shit _ , that’s tiring,” He groaned. “And yes, Ben, I know you told me not to hold it that long.”

“He’s got a point,” Luther shrugged. “You don’t want to overexert yourself.”

“If I wanted to be lectured, I’d summon up Dad, but that’ll happen when Hell freezes over and so let’s skip it, hm?” Klaus grinned. “Now, since you all had the pleasure of meeting my boyfriend, may we have the rest of our evening in private?”

“Yeah, of course,” Vanya said. 

“Are they gonna let you stay much longer?” Allison asked. Klaus shrugged.

“The guards know who I am, we are kind of famous after all,” he said. “They know what I can do. They don’t know specifics, and I’m pretty sure they think I’m keeping a different ghost company every week - no Dave, I’m not cheating on you with the Captain, he’s boring - but either way they let me be.” 

“Well then, we’ll see you back at the house tomorrow?” Allison asked. 

“Oh hey, if we can get Dave able to stay in the house, that means Klaus can’t get out of family day anymore,” Diego said, and Klaus groaned.

“You’ve caught me, this was all one big ruse to get out of family day,” he whined, holding his hands out like he was getting handcuffed. “Lock me up, officer, I hate my family.”

“I have to figure out how to get Dave there first, but I’ll get it eventually,” Five said, already thinking of ideas. Obviously none of them would work without Klaus, but getting him to try different things could wait at least a few days. 

“We’ll leave you be now, though. Have a good night, Klaus. You too Dave, and Ben,” Allison said with a smile. Klaus gave them another smile and a wave as they started to walk back down the path. They passed the security guard, who gave them a nod, and then they walked in silence back to the car. In fact, no one broke the quiet until nearly an hour into the drive.

“So...Klaus has a dead boyfriend,” Luther said.

“Klaus fought in Vietnam,” Vanya added, still sounding like it was something she couldn’t believe. 

“Klaus is in love.” Allison couldn’t help the upward turn of her lips as she remembered her early days with Patrick. Bittersweet now, but reminiscent of the looks that Klaus and Dave shared with each other. She had no doubt that Klaus would make it work, dating a ghost. After all, his way of using his powers to date was a lot less harmful than Allison’s. Her hand curled around the steering wheel a little tighter at the thought. Everything that happened with her marriage was a result of her powers, she hoped that Klaus’s turned out better. 

When Klaus reentered the house after midnight, he returned the basket to the kitchen and passed out on the couch. When he woke up, there was a blanket thrown over him and a note that read ‘ _ Dave is lovely. Five is working hard to help. When you wake up, we’re in the kitchen. -A’. _

“I can hear them,” Ben said as Klaus groaned and sat up. “They’re talking about asking you to manifest me tonight for dinner. Do you think you’ll be up for it?”

Klaus pondered for a minute, feeling how he was still tired but also feeling so proud after yesterday that he felt he could do anything. His family had driven hours to make sure he was okay, they were already good friends with the love of his life, and their surly little assassin was working to help him bring Dave home. He owed them something. And he owed Ben a lot.

“Yeah, I can do that.”

That was the first of many dinners that included Ben. Their family was whole again, laughing and teasing across the dining table and enjoying Grace’s food. First they were seven, then six, then five all the way down to one. Then none, with Luther on the moon.

Seven seats were once more filled. 

And when Five and Klaus managed to tether the set of dog tags to both their original owner and the house...well then seven became eight. 

And Klaus never missed another family day. 

**Author's Note:**

> dont worry he probably keeps going back to the memorial to see other soldiers he knew. i wonder how confused they were when he first showed up still looking the age he was during the war lmao.
> 
> anyway, i hope you liked it :) . dunno if ill write any more for umbrella academy, this was just an idea that caught my attention, but i hope i did the characters justice 
> 
> love all of u and thank u for reading


End file.
